Cast- Manoj Bajpayee, Adarsh Gourav, Smita Tambe, Kumud Mishra
Director- Atanu Mukherjee
Writer- Vasan Bala, Atanu Mukherjee, Akash Mohimen
Is a mystery with a pace of its own.
The story revolves around a boy Dhruv who comes back home from his boarding school after a long time upon the untimely death of his father by an accident. The story unfolds when he discovers that there’s more to the death. As he strives to uncover the truth, he unravels facts and finally finds a closure to the mystery around the death and in course of it, rediscovers relationships and changes his outlook/direction (rukh )towards life.
Writer Director Atanu Mukherjee has chosen the slow format of the contemplative cinema and merged it with suspense that unravels gradually. It’s a film which expects you to relish every nuance of the frame, each expression of its characters and every bit of the feel that the director has created.
The screenplay is pretty good for the very fact that in spite of the slow pace, it manages to hold the suspense and interest of the audience. It’s like waiting for one piece after another to fall in place. All this while you are completely invested emotionally in what the characters are going through.
The camera work by Pooja Gupte is very different and lingers long on faces, expressions and locations as if the film maker wants the audience to soak in the melancholy that prevails in the life of the protagonists.
The performances are great.
Adarsh Gourav gets the lion’s share of screen presence and impresses. He holds good at par with a stalwart like Manoj Bajpayee and seasoned actors like Smita Tambe and Kumud Misra. And he manages to do that with minimum dialogues and histrionics. He portrays the pain, being baffled and frustrated by what everyone around is concealing and aggression that shows his determination to uncover the truth.
Manoj Bajpayee never fails to vow even though his role is as small as guest appearance. His ability to merge with his character is so immense that I would rather say he gets dissolved in his character. His expressions and more than that , his body language was so congruent to his character, it was amazing.
I couldn’t help but recall his trembling hands and scared body language in Aligarh , Or the eager, young and energetic body language of a constable in Traffic, the determined and strict mentor in Run Budhiya Run .. and these are just the recent ones to name a few.
While Irfan is another actor in that league who floors you completely with his eyes and facial expressions, Manoj Bajpayee uses his body language as an ace up his sleeve.
Smita Tambe, with all the focus on her face ,portrays the effected wife with such subtle emotions,calm but pained, strong and resolute.
Amit Trivedi’s music and Sidhant Mago ‘s Lyrics were earthy and played a role superbly to convey the mood and message.
The song ” khidki ” at the end of the movie , conveys very clearly what the writer and the story wants to convey,that all you need to do sometimes to change the direction of life is to open up windows.
Same life, same people and all we need is a different perspective, a different rukh .
The movie is another addition to the list that proves that slow, subtle and thoughtful cinema can be interesting too.
A gem for the audience who have an inclination for this genre. Those who like their cinema fast, please keep away.
Score 8 on 10